UTStarcom Inc., a major player in IP-based, end-to-end networking solutions and international service and support, has announced a new contract with China's Bureau of Radio and Television of Santai County, Sichuan Province, a subsidiary of SARFT.

SARFT, or the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, an organization directly under the State Council, the former Ministry of Radio, Film and Television, is the competent administrative authority in charge of Chinese radio, film and television industry.

As part of the contract UTStarcom (News - Alert) will help resume radio and television networks in earthquake-stricken areas in Sichuan province via its end-to-end RollingStream IPTV platform.

According to a press release, phase one of the deployment will cover 20,000 users, providing them with access to delivery channels, such as television and radio, for critical information.

Upon completion, users will have access to ongoing rich and colorful TV programs, as well as a broad platform for communication.

"UTStarcom, with our interactive IPTV (News - Alert) technology, is the ideal partner to support SARFT and help the local Sichuan province and other regions resume television and radio networks following last year's major earthquake," said Peter Blackmore (News - Alert), chief executive officer and president, UTStarcom, in the release.

Blackmore said that the IPTV RollingStream platform will improve the technology and operation levels of Sichuan's radio and television sector by transitioning from a simple, one-way network to a dual high-speed network.

He said that in the future, SARFT and UTStarcom could work together to make similar network enhancements in numerous other provinces.

Company officials said the deployment is scheduled to start this month. The project will be carried out in every earthquake-hit area in the Sichuan province, though the applied technologies will vary.

Some areas will apply the traditional one-way digital TV model, while others will use interactive streaming media technology.

Recently UTStarcom, Inc. had announced a growing sales association with Logicalis (News - Alert), a UK-based international provider of information & communications technology (ICT) and a wholly owned division of Datatec Limited (DTC).

The collaboration will help accelerate the growth of UTStarcom's IPTV product offerings and broadband access solutions to tier-one and tier-two service providers in South America.